For all of this, North Korea expected a million tons of heavy fuel oil, a lifting of sanctions and removal from the U.S. list of terrorist sponsors. This has not happened yet, so North Korea has slowed down the disabling process at Yongbyon.

The United States says Pyongyang hasn't yet fully accounted for its past nuclear activities. However, both sides seem determined to overcome this stumbling block and reach out in other ways, too.

As we were being shown around Yongbyon, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra was landing in Pyongyang, the first time a major U.S. cultural group has visited North Korea since the war in the early '50s.

Both sides seem to be looking for a less hostile relationship, and as the U.S. nuclear negotiator says, "They don't like our words; maybe they'll like our music."

Tuesday night a select group of North Koreans will hear the famed musicians play, and those with TVs will see the concert broadcast live.

Members of the orchestra also will give master classes to North Korean musicians, a small step on a long route to normality.E-mail to a friend